Tech
New Ultra-Sensitive Gas Sensors: Boron-Doped Graphene Is More Effective
Rosanna Singh
First Posted: Nov 05, 2015 04:45 PM EST
Researchers have created a new ultra-sensitive gas sensor that features boron-doped graphene. As it turns out, graphene is a highly sensitive gas sensor, therefore it is the ideal ingredient for making ultra-sensitive gas sensors, according to a recent study.
"This is a project that we have been pursuing for the past four years," said Mauricio Terrones, author of the study and professor of physics, chemistry and materials science at Pennsylvania State University.
"We were previously able to dope graphene with atoms of nitrogen, but boron proved to be much more difficult. Once we were able to synthesize what we believed to be boron graphene, we collaborated with experts in the United States and around the world to confirm our research and test the properties of our material," Terrones said in a news release.
Graphene is quite popular for its strength and its ability to transport electrons at high speed, but it also detects gas effectively. Graphene sensors are capable of detecting noxious gas molecules at extremely low concentrations, according to the researchers.
The researchers tested low concentrations of nitrogen oxides (parts per billion) and ammonia (parts per million). They found that there was a 27 times greater sensitivity to nitrogen oxides and 10,000 times greater sensitivity to ammonia compared to pristine graphene.
"This multidisciplinary research paves a new avenue for further exploration of ultra-sensitive gas sensors," said Avetik Harutyunyan, chief scientist and project leader at Honda Research Institute USA Inc. "We believe that further development of this technology may break the parts per quadrillion level of detection limit, which is up to six orders of magnitude better sensitivity than current state-of-the-art sensors."
This new development is paving the way to creating high-performance sensors that can detect toxic and flammable gasses that are dangerous. This new development can be adapted in labs and industries that use high levels of ammonia, nitrogen oxides and other types of dangerous gas.
It can also improve lithium-ion batteries and field-effect transistors, according to the researchers. This study was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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First Posted: Nov 05, 2015 04:45 PM EST
Researchers have created a new ultra-sensitive gas sensor that features boron-doped graphene. As it turns out, graphene is a highly sensitive gas sensor, therefore it is the ideal ingredient for making ultra-sensitive gas sensors, according to a recent study.
"This is a project that we have been pursuing for the past four years," said Mauricio Terrones, author of the study and professor of physics, chemistry and materials science at Pennsylvania State University.
"We were previously able to dope graphene with atoms of nitrogen, but boron proved to be much more difficult. Once we were able to synthesize what we believed to be boron graphene, we collaborated with experts in the United States and around the world to confirm our research and test the properties of our material," Terrones said in a news release.
Graphene is quite popular for its strength and its ability to transport electrons at high speed, but it also detects gas effectively. Graphene sensors are capable of detecting noxious gas molecules at extremely low concentrations, according to the researchers.
The researchers tested low concentrations of nitrogen oxides (parts per billion) and ammonia (parts per million). They found that there was a 27 times greater sensitivity to nitrogen oxides and 10,000 times greater sensitivity to ammonia compared to pristine graphene.
"This multidisciplinary research paves a new avenue for further exploration of ultra-sensitive gas sensors," said Avetik Harutyunyan, chief scientist and project leader at Honda Research Institute USA Inc. "We believe that further development of this technology may break the parts per quadrillion level of detection limit, which is up to six orders of magnitude better sensitivity than current state-of-the-art sensors."
This new development is paving the way to creating high-performance sensors that can detect toxic and flammable gasses that are dangerous. This new development can be adapted in labs and industries that use high levels of ammonia, nitrogen oxides and other types of dangerous gas.
It can also improve lithium-ion batteries and field-effect transistors, according to the researchers. This study was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Related Articles
New Semiconductor Material For Solar Cell Technology: Zinc And Tin
Graphene Takes Night-Vision Technology Beyond 'Predator'
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone